Cotton-picker.



PATBNTED NOV. 19. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

kfozum H. P. GHILDRESS. COTTON PICKER' APPLICATION FILED MAR. Z3, 1906,

PATENTBD NOV. 19, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Hndersmle/ Z-" H. P. OHILDRESS. COTTON PICKER'V APPLICATION FILED MAR z3190s @L h c ma a @it front' of# wm it .itittitllillldt A Kill@ ill fusilHENDERSON l. HIL'DRESS, Oi" NEW YORK, N. Y.

.'l'o all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that HENDERSON li. Cnn.- ORESS; a citizen of the UnitedStates, resilling at New York, in the county of' Now York and Stato ofNew Yorin, has invented o. now and useful Cotton-Picker, oi which thefol lowing is a spoci'icntion.

The present invention relatos moro por ticulinly to tho moons forstitching tho cotton from the plants.

Experience hos shown than; in mechanical picking devices,colnpsi'atively strong pioliing lingers arc essential, for otherwise.they boconic bent in the cngztjgoniont with the stout stalks andbranches of they plant, .and nt tho same. timo, it the teeth oro instalosniiciontly strong, it is found very advantagoous to hnve them soairs-.nosed that they will yield, il they do strilo-A istrnctions, inorder to release the. same o' avoid domingo to the mechanism and the.ant.

'lhe principal object thor "oro 'ol the proscnt invention is to provid;`.novel jpiokor, which will be strong and of: f vo in opi-imtion, willautomatic allyrolsnt it-sol'l from ohstructions, will properly deli the-picked cotton to the picking niochmisni, and will not bcconic cloggedwith lint.

Another objoct is to provide, o. picker dsvicc tnat will operatothroughout its width, to provide. .moans that will center the cotton ontho conveyor bolt, and to movido driving moons that is entirelyinolossoond protected against tho entrance oi dust, dirt, lint onil tholike.

In the acconiponyiiiig; drawingsz--llignro l. is a, top planl viow oftho now picker. lligj. 2 :is o vertical soctionzil viow thro! th:A

suino. Fig. 3 is it sido olovzition of tha, `cking and driving moonstliorcio. llig. 1F is it horizontal sectional view through the pickingde xvico. Fig.. 5 is it 'vertical scctionitl vicw through the same. Fig.is n dotnil soctional View showing ono oi tlio fingers thrown back. Fig.7 is n detail porsp'cctivc View of the finger projecting; moons. Fig. Sis a side elevation-of a. modiiod 'form of the saine, and Fig. 9 is onond elevation oi" the structur disclosed in Fig. 8. llig. l0 is o,longitudinal soc-tional view thtongh the goor casing. Fig. 11 is n cosssectional view on tho line 11-11 of Fig. 10.

Silniloi` rofcronco numero-ls designato co1. 1o. fill the iigurcs of thoresponding parts drawings.

Qin .tllo sniliofimioiiit illustrated, n pon ol Specification of LettersElmont.

23.1908. 'larizii Elo. SOfiL ,tho path f of sani tooth.,

spliced supports. prsilfors'oly in tho 'loini of lrtrs il), nro oongloyilii, which arc ciniriod hy n hiftckot 3.1, inountoil on spo-coiltubos l2 t' the convoyor. 'lin'ongh tho-sc tubos oporotos n toothodconvoy-or bolt 13, which posses nhont o,- pnllsy 11i, scouroil to nshalt l5, joint amical in tho support-:nig hors il). Said holt nlsoconstitutes':sJ iliivoi for tho pnlioy .l1-nil shaft. lvlonntoil ontl1os1-inpoiting; h s in finiva-noo of sind l tomi from tho boit pulley,is tl i .lig dovico, which is r ably consti .o sis follows.

A st tio lo lo orztsiiais ooross tho spool: tits liars i6, und isseonrcd against foto i. (las. this milo is roti" ,l v ioirnnlwl o. lliun, u mino uomini-sii U iphoinl t l .i' .uno hooiis litt butto-fi theWalls und iotntohlo on the milo. riplioisi mil is provitloil with oponinL), 11nd pivot sit-rows or hol is 20, passing through the woll7 slsooxtonil .across tho openings. Those bolts or pivots cngngo thc hoods i8,und thus constitute tio devices for securing the ports ol tho ruintogether. A plurality of trttnsvorso .s oi picking tooth 2l siro locatedin thc openings i9, and 13's loo v oni'- nalcrl between tlioii' snris ontiio pivots 2l), the. tooth thus forming; annular rows, my nninbor ofwhiol'i may he si nloyctl. :is {io- Sb sirod. Their outer onli. porl..oos airs proforoiily oni'vod and pointed, ivliilo the i mor portions 23mi: disposed in angular i'osntion to the outer portions Mcclionisi islocated within thc (linnn lor thon' i'otstion, ln 'tho omlioilixnont ciin tho iirst sovon iiuios, o. holo oi,ig,-lo vofl thot is suitablyiixorl to tho lo, smi has n wol) oxtonfiing from ont sirio l so fSoi-.noni to this v-:cb nrc :i plu rtlity o nflooifndont cinvoil tracks25 tlist oro oi' yiolili n motorini, sind trucks lining oncii snppoitoiicontiguous to ono @nfl by tlm web, und. oxtonrling sronnfl 'tho innersido oi the 'por'phcml wall, m'ljiicont thereto. 'llio ends oi thotracks aro spliced somo distance snort, cionly shown iii Figs. and. Y.(loiloil o rings 27 :we interpossd. botwoon tho 3.05 irse @nos oi'thctinolis. ons?. tlio liulo, Tofsaiiifghold in pisco by .any snitnblomeans, as ior instonoo, lugs 28 that engage in tho onda oi said springs,llsoii ti'ocli is disposed in lino with om oi' tho annular rows of to thsnai in olf niovomont of im portions msg :is .io tooth.

er@ ever tlie tr slss, they are nisinteined in proeeting reletion, butwhen they ere disnosefi .between the ends oi seifictrseks, they ere irseto turn rearwardly Without resistance This will be oleer by reference toFig. 5. At tbe seine time, the tracks are yielding, setlist il sny ofthe projecting teeth strike any Iterisl resistance or obstruction, theseme can turn resrwerly, forcing the'traoks inwardly, "in which esse,they will sssnnietlie relation shown in Fig. 6.

nsteed. ol" the structure above described, the embodiment' illustratedin Figs. 8 and 9 insy be employed. in this form, e. hub 24a employed,having s. web 25s, emi the trseiis 2o are hinged es shown et 26h to saidweb. The treelrs are, however, yieldably meinteinecl in their outerpositions by snrings 27a interposed between the triiolrs and the linieZea. The operation of this niodiiios.- tion is vsubstsntislly tl'ie sameas that of tlie eniboeiiinent already described.

The picking devies is rotated from the slieit i5, the .motion of theletter being transmitted to tbe ioriner through suitable gearing; in'

present embodiment, this gearing Coniprises gear' Wheels 29, oneWleioli. is seeured to tlie slisit l5, tlie other being connected totirefirnrn. An idler pinion 30 is interposed. between snel is in meshwith seid gear Wheels'. The completely inolosed in order to protect itfrom the flirt, dust, lint enti the like, sind for-this purpose, e,easing is eniployefl, com Jrising en outer Well 3l disposed outside the.er i0, top` .fi-nfl bottom Wells 31a si i end Wells E2, end en innerWell or psrti tion 33 located,A on the inner sile oi" tlie gear ing siniextending betv'een the seine en@ the drinn.

i easing Well 34- 'is also preferably i outside tile opposite supportingber 'posed between tliese two G rlisirs 35, secured to seid essings i ed'lo-etnie the seme and tlie et tire drinn. The disks 35 are lielilrots-tion, eno* lieve bearings' against liestl. The ediseent disk endlie-ed i .itl of the .firnin are provided, one oii'milsr "ib 35, tlieother with o. circui 3,7 receiving the seme. 5o in order that the pickerteeth Z2 willpperthroughout :in aree equal to tbe `Width oi' theflriiin, tile on ter teeth sro preferably inclined outwardly, as shown,so tlist their outer ends are disposed in substantially the seine planoses the flruin heads. The openings end for the teeth are correspond- 'lsliepen. Means are also provided for .r the piol'efl cotton upon theoonbelt "i3, This ineens oo-niprisesiloi Tninwsrdly inclined lipsfnrrenkrerl io picker and oonveyer and oarliize onsings. -penil'ion ofthe structure may be ibm?. :is follows: Ey having (lie l ewiges axle i6,it will be apparent tliet tlie teetli, es they ltravel around the outerside of the drum ere maintained in projecting relation,- but es they assthe inner ends oi the tracks. they are re esseci, so that they eenfreely swing baolrvverdly' in passing the oonveyer belt. The oint ofrelease can be readily varied by e. justing the axle and the trackscarried thereby. it will thus be apparent that if the rotary pickeris'presented to s. cotton boil, the projecting teeth will engage and nextract tile cotton therefrom, delivering it to the conveyor belt, thelips 38 centering the cotton as it is teken by the belt from the teeth.When the teeth pass the belt, they are free to swing bsokwardly, endconsequently the cotton Will be" disengaged therefrom with very littleliability of the lint be coming caught or clogging the saine. llllienthe teeth rea-chtite lower ends of the tracks, seid ends being; disposedin the' paths oi movement of their inner omis 23, will cerise. them to:ig-ein swing to and lookin their projecting relation. Should one ormore of the 'teeth engage s branch or tlie like, the resistsnee offeredthereby will cerise the artcun ler teeth engaged, lo swing rearward y toinoperative positions, in which iosition they will be looked untilreleesecl. Moreover, while the resistance to the swinging motion is eti'irst very greet, it greduelly weakens D towards the free ends of thetracks, end oonsequently the teeth een more readily turn et said ends,so that there is no danger of the stellte or other obstructions beingcarried down against the side supports or eesings. 'll/loreover, eseseli tootli is ospeble or" sn independent swinging movement, theInovement of the saine to sn inoperative lposition (loes not in anymanner niiect the operation oi the others. l The joints or bearings etthe ends oi the drinn ere also importent, es they probibit the Windingof tlie lint upon tire bearings, end thereby eliminstefrietion and weerto it very material degree.

-llroni the foregoing, it thought tiret tire construotion; operation,and many oflve'ntsges 'of the herein described invention will be aprirent to tliose skilled in the art, Without rurther descrip tion,enflit will be understood that various changes in the size, shape,proportion, and minor ldetails of constrnetion nifty be resorted toWithout (lepsting from the spirit or sacrificing any of the:ulvontzig'es of the invention. Y

Having thus fully described my invention, what l claim is new, anddesire to se eure by Letters izitent, is:-

l. ln s, cotton picker, the combination with rotary support,A oftransversely (lise posed sets of teetli pivotally mounted on thesnp-port, @zich tooth ol eeoli set having indepondent swingingmovements, snel ineens for Imiintziining the teeth in projectingrelawinged on the outer side of tlie l tion during si portion ol' theirrotation, seid i3() on the pivots, and means engaging snare means,permitting the independent movement of each toothto an inoperativeposition independently oi thel other teeth.

. 2. In a cotton picker, the combination with a rotary Support, oi'transversely disposed pivots mounted on the support, independentlyswinging teeth loosely journaled the teeth fr yieldingly maintainingthem in projecti grelation during a portion of their rotaf t 011 saidmeans permitting the independent movement of eaeh tooth to aninoperative position independently ofthe other teeth.

3. In; a cotton picker, .the combination with a rotary drum comprising aperipheral Wall and heads located at the ends of the `Wallfofla pivotdevice passing through the wall and secured to the heads, said headsbeing fastened to vthe wall by said pivot device,

-wall having a transverse series o peripheral wall and journaled on theland a pluralit of independently swinging teeth 'ournale on the pivotdevice.

4.l n` a cotton picker, the combination with a drum comprising tubular)ewipheral il openings therethrough, and heads detachably located at theends of the peripheral wall, of pivots passing through the peripheralwall andthe openings thereof` said pivots having their ends secured inthe heads, and said heads be- `ing fastened to the peripheral wall bythe pivots, 'and a plurality of independently swinging teeth located inthe openings of the vots.

15. In `a cotton picker, the combination with a rotary support,4 of aplurality ci annular` rows of independently swinging teeth mounted onthe support and disposed side by side, each tooth being pivoted betweenits ends, andineans engaging the inner portion of each tooth during aportion of its rotation to maintain the outer portion of thc saine inprojecting relation.

6.` In, a1 cotton picker.1 the combination with la rotary support, of aplurality of annular rows offswingin f teeth pivotally Amounted on thesupport, ant separate devices located in the path of movement oit theteeth of cach annular .row for maintaining said teeth inl iprojectingrelation during a portion olf their rotation` 7,j In a cottonpicker,'the combination with adruin comprising a )eripheral wallaoliable heads located at the ends oi the wall, oi pivots passingthrough the wall and engaging the heads to hold the saine in place,said-pivots extending-across the openings, independently swinglngteethlocated in the openings of the wall and loosely journaled on thepivots, and a pluralityl of curved tracks located within the rum andrespectively disposed in the path of movement, of dil'erent teeth.

8. In' a `cotton picker, the combination with a stationary axle, ol adrum rotatable about the saine, aplurality of sets ci indo pendentlyswinging teeth jourualod between their ends in the drum, and project ingmoans for the teeth secured to the axle nd. located within the drum inthe path ol. inovonwnl ol' the inner portions of the teeth.

l). ln a cotton picker, ille .fouibinalion with spaced supports, oi' anaxle mounted on tho supports and extending across the spero betweenthem, means i'or securing ille axle against rotation a druiu journulodupon the axle and including a peripheral wrll having openings,ilulcpeinlenlly swinging rooth pivoted between their ends in ineopenings and rotatable with the druni, and tracks secured to the axleand located within the drum, said tracks being disposed in the pall! olInievernent of the inner portions ol" the teeth.

l0. ln a cotton picker, the combination with a rotatable support, olf apicking tooth pivotally mounted thereon, and means hohl against rotationand niovably enr ed by the tooth for yields-bly maintaining d tooth inprojecting relation with respect to the support during a portion oi itsrotation.

ll. in a cotton picker, `the combination with a rotary drum, ol aplurality oi sets ul teeth pivo'ted on the drum, and ineensA heldagainst rotation within the drunl and located in the ath of movement ofthe teeth yielding y maintaining said teeth in pro l ing relation withrespect to the drum during a portion of their rotation.

l2. In a cotton picker, the combination witha stationary axle, ot a drumrotatable about the saine, a 'plurality ol' sets ol independentlyswinging teeth journeled between their ends on the drum, and yieldableJineens for maintaining the tooth in proJl-,ctiiugrelation with respectto the drum during a portion of their rotation, said means being secured againstrotation to the axle and located within the drum in thepath ci movement oly the inner portions ol" the tooth. y

13. In a cotton picker, the combination with a rotary drum, of aplurality ol annuler rows of swinging tooth pivoted on the drum, andseparate yielding supports located within the drum and engaging theteeth lor 11min taining said teeth oi each row in projecting; relationduring a portion of their revolution,

14. in a cotton picker, the combination withinvr rotary drinn, of aplurality ol annular rows of swinging teeth pivoted between their endson the drum, and a plurality of separate yieldablo tracks located withinthe drum in the path of movement of tho inner portions of tho tooth.

'15. ln a cotton picker, the combination with a stationary-axle, oi adrum rotatable about the saine and having a peripheral wall, providedwith openings, transverse series of independently swinging tooth pivotodon the druin between their ends and disposed in an nular rows, a su)porting web secured fto the axle within the drum, a plurality oiyieldeble l sides oi the heads.

tation.

with a rotary drum, of a series of teeth er;u tending transversely ofthe drum, said teeth of the series projecting outwardly at an in- 'ournawith spaced supports, of a drum journaled the other with a correspondingrecess that retracks carried by theweb andiocated Within the drum, saidtracks being respectively located in the paths of movement of the innerportions of teeth, and springs supporting said tracks.

161111 a cotton icker, the combination with a rotatable ic ing drum, ofa plurality of teeth rotatabld with the drum and mov-v abiy mountedthereon and non-rotatable means engaging the teeth for yieldinglymaintaining them in projecting relation With respect to the drum. l

17. In a cotton icker, the combination with a rotatable icliing drum, ofa plurality of teeth rotatable with the drum and movable into and out ofprojecting relation with respect thereto, and means held stationarywithin the drum and engaged by the teeth for yieldablgf maintaining saidteeth in projecting relation during aportion of their ro- 1S. in acotton picker, the combination with a rotary drum, of a plurality ofteeth movably mounted onv the drum, certain of said teeth projectingoutwardly toward the ends of said drum.

19. In a cotton picker, Athe combination with a rotary drum, of aplurality ofv teethl pivoted. on the drum and projecting at aniiiclination outwardly toward the ends of the' drum.

'20. .In ajc'otton picker, the Vcombination being pivoterl on the drumand the end teeth clination toward the ends of the drum.

2i. in a cotton picker, thc combination with s aoed supports, o apicking drum lied between the supports and having Aeads and pickingteeth, and bearin disks j located adjacent to the heads, said dis shaving their inner portions spaced from the heads and having marginalbearing engage ments with the marginal portions'lof the outer 22. In acotton picker, the combination between the same and having heads, andbearing disks mounted on the supports ad jacent to the heads, each headand adjacent disk being provided, one with a circular rib,

ceives the rib.

23. In a-cotton picker, the combination with a support, of a casingcarried by one side oi the support and comprising inner and outer sidewalls, end walls and a top and bottom, a driving shaft extending acrossthe about the driving shaft, ak icking drum joui-,

naled on the support in a Vance of thel driving shaft and having a shaftdisposed in substantially parallel relation to the driving shaft andprojlecting into the casing, and gearing locate( within the casing andconnecting the shafts for transmitting power from one to the other.

24. In a cotton picker, the combination with a carrier belt, of a rotarpicker disposed in advance of and spaced rom the belt, and guideslocatedin the space between the picker and belt and projecting inwardlyand downwardly towards each other.

25. In a cotton picker, the combinationwith a rotary support, ot aplurality of independently swinging teeth mounted' on the support, eachtooth being pivoted between its ends and having a swinging movementtransversely of its length, and means engaging the inner portion of eachtooth during a portion of its rotation to maintain the outer portion ofthe same in projecting relation, said means permitting the movement ofthe tooth to an inoperative 'ntly of the other teeth. 26. VIn a cottonpicker, the combination with a rotary supplort,of a plurality ofswinging teeth mounte on the support, and means for yieldinglymaintaining the teeth against their swinging .movements and inprojecting relation with respect to the support, said means normallypreventing the swingin movement of the teeth but permitting sai iswinging movement of said teeth to an inop- 'eiative position when thesame strike an o struction.

lilll 27. ln a cotton picker, the combination' with a rotary drinnhaving a peripheral wail,

of a plurality of swinging teeth mounted on the through the perum andprojectin ripheral wall said teet Swingin versely of their length andrearwardiy on the outer side of said wall to an inoperative p0 'icotransf A sition, and means for yieldingly maintaining' p the teethagainst their swinging movement and invtheir operative positions, saidmeans permitting the movement of the teeth to an inoperative positionWhen-engaged with an obstruction.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as l my own, I have heretoallixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HENDERSGN P. CHILDRESS. Witnesses: y 1

JonN H. Siemens, Sr. GEORGE PATE,

